NCJ Number
223637
Date Published
April 2008
Length
6 pages
Annotation
In order to examine factors that influenced juror satisfaction with his/her jury experience as well as confidence in the criminal justice system, this study administered exit surveys to 628 empanelled (involved in jury deliberations) and 1,048 nonempanelled (did not participate in jury deliberations) jurors in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.
Abstract
Survey findings indicate that empanelled jurors were more satisfied with the experience of jury service than nonempanelled jurors. Jurors in Victoria were significantly more satisfied with the comfort provided by the physical facilities than jurors in New South Wales or South Australia. A substantial majority of jurors regarded juror remuneration as inadequate. Level of satisfaction with the jury experience significantly predicted overall confidence in the criminal justice system. These findings thus suggest that confidence in the criminal justice system can be increased among jurors by facilitating increased participation in meaningful jury tasks, by improving jury facilities, and by increasing juror remuneration. Jurors were surveyed in District/County and Supreme Courts in metropolitan and regional areas in the three States between March and May 2007. Survey responses from nonempanelled jurors, who attended jury service but were ultimately not empanelled in a trial, were compared with those of empanelled jurors in order to determine whether the experience of serving on a jury was related to juror satisfaction and perceptions of the criminal justice system. Both empanelled and nonempanelled jurors individually rated their satisfaction with the jury assembly area, financial remuneration, and overall satisfaction with the experience of jury service. A series of 11 questions measured participants’ confidence in the criminal justice system. 2 tables, 2 figures, and 13 references